Baltimore Schools Prep For Massive Renovations

Baltimore public schools are on the verge of a system-wide makeover that officials hope will provide safer learning conditions for students and spark an era of academic achievement.

About $1 billion in new funding is expected to transform some of Baltimore’s most run-down schools — where students and staff endure leaky pipes, undrinkable water and inadequate heating and air conditioning — into state-of-the-art learning sites with science and computer labs.

Recent data has shown a small but positive relationship between the quality of a public school’s building and its academic outcomes. School districts across the country, including Los Angeles and New Haven, Conn., saw gains in student performance when they improved outdated or dilapidated schools.